Tu Decides rally

What: A rally to encourage Latinos to vote.

Where: Saigon Plaza, 5400 Detroit Ave., Cleveland.

When: 5 p.m. Saturday.

Details: The rally, open to the public, will feature food, live music, speakers and voter registration. The Rev. Gabriel Salguero, pastor of the Lambs Club Church in New York City and president of the National Latino Evangelical Coa lition, will be guest speaker.

More info: Call rally organizer Magda Gomez at 216-235-1578.

In a swing state like Ohio, we're well accustomed to the rhetoric heard by candidates on the campaign trail. They come and go, hoping to offer their best political arguments that will sway Ohio voters to their positions and turn the election in their favor. While the rhetoric is important, it's shallow at its core and does not always reflect the concerns of those whose votes they're trying to solicit, especially when it comes to the Latino community.

As clergy in the Hispanic evangelical community, we tend to keep our community separate from the political sphere. Traditionally within the church, we neither endorse politicians nor attempt to sway our congregants in any way politically. That is not our job as religious leaders.

However, it is our obligation to protect our community from things that will hurt them and advocate for issues that will help improve their quality of life. While we all represent different churches, our congregants seem to share the same areas of concerns and are increasingly frustrated by the failure of our political leaders to address the issues that most impact our families and young people.

This election cycle, the Latino community in Ohio and across the country is working hard to ensure that our issues are at the top of the national agenda -- we're tired of politicians talking about immigrant workers and families in a way that is inflammatory and dehumanizing. We're looking for more than just rhetorical change: We want political leaders who have the common sense and courage to pass things like comprehensive immigration reform, save the programs that serve as an economic lifeline to our community, and ensure educational equality for our young people. It's time that our community is treated with respect and welcomed with an open heart rather than a "Keep Out" sign.

This is an especially troubling trend considering that throughout Ohio and across the country, Latinos are playing an increasingly pivotal role on the political front. Between 2000 and 2009, Ohio's Hispanic population accounted for an astounding 55.9 percent of the state's total growth. This November, millions of Latinos nationwide are expected to cast ballots for the candidates who best address the issues impacting their community the most. However, the unwelcoming, hateful rhetoric heard on the campaign trail has kept many Latinos from even coming to the polls.

That's why we are hosting Tu Decides (You Decide), a faith-based rally to engage and work with community leaders to identify, register and turn out record numbers of Latino voters to the polls in 2012. An unprecedented number of faith-based leaders from more than 60 Hispanic evangelical churches are coming together to motivate, organize and mobilize members of the faith-based community to address issues most important to the Latino community.

In order to secure a strong future for our community, we're ready to engage in the political process ourselves to push our leaders to address the key concerns facing our community. Tu Decides will help narrow the gap in voter participation among Hispanics and help make sure that Latino issues are a top priority in 2012 and beyond.

As Latino evangelicals, we're not trying to elect any particular candidate; we are merely trying to advance our set of issues, a set of issues supported by the majority of Americans. Any candidate who alienates our hopes and dreams is committing a serious political error. We have a new generation of voters that is determined to fight for justice, and rest assured, we won't stop working until our issues are anchored on the agendas of our political leaders.

We're ready to break out of the four walls of the church and make our voices heard.

Jose Marrero is pastor of Emmanuel Missionary Church of Christ; Max Rodas is executive director of Nueva Luz Urban Resource Center; and Lillian Laboy is pastor of Elim Church.

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